How to Get More Done and Have More Fun
Posted September 23, 2010 in How-To, Productivity
Have you ever thought that by simply rearranging your daily tasks you could increase your productivity, get more done and enjoy yourself more? The biggest asset of freelancers worldwide is that they usually do what they love, and love what they do. But, what happens when you get stressed with deadlines, long working hours and lots of clients and you don’t have any more time for yourself, your family or your personal projects?
Most of you are probably organized to some extent. Most of you probably have a to-do list where you add tasks that need to be done and tick them off once they’re completed. However, have you ever thought that by simply rearranging that to-do list you can rediscover that working is fun, pleasant and enjoyable? By simply rearranging to-dos you can give yourself daily boosts.
How? You may ask. In this post, I’ll answer that question and show you how to get more from your work and more time for yourself.
Arrange Tasks Based on Importance
For starters, it is really important to arrange the items in a to-do list based on their importance. You wouldn’t want to finish ten tasks, only to realize you’re tired and worn out and there’s one last important task you simply cannot finish in time.
By arranging the tasks in the to-do list based on their importance, you know that each day you’ll start with the most important ones. Even if there’s an emergency in the middle of the day, chances are that the most important tasks due today or in the next few days are completed, and you can stop working and go where your needed.
Doing this will allow you to handle your business accordingly, and no matter what challenges you, you will always be professional in front of your clients by always delivering on time.
Arrange Tasks Based on Complexity
After you’ve arranged your tasks based on their importance, it is wise to rearrange some of them based on their complexity. By doing so, you put the complex tasks at the start of the day when you’re fresh and kicking at full speed. This way, when it’s past noon, all the tasks you are likely to have on your to-do list are easy, simple, unimportant tasks that don’t require extreme caution.
You’ll ease your daily work and prevent errors from occurring in the key features of the projects you’re working on. Therefore, you’ll deliver high quality solutions without stressing out about it. The quality of your work will be easily preserved.
Arrange Tasks Based on How Fun They Are
By now, you’ve made sure that your daily tasks are arranged so that you finish the complex, important ones first, and leave the rest for the end of your day. However, by noon or definitely by the end of the day, you’ll be somewhat tired to an extent that you’re looking at the time every five minutes.
You can improve how you end your day by simply placing tasks you love to do at the end of the day. You like designing a lot? Place some of the designing tasks at the end of the day. You like coding a lot? Then, put some easy coding tasks at the end of the day.
By doing so, when you’re almost about to give up and stop working for the day, you’ll stumble upon a task you love to do, and that will keep you going on and you’ll finish your work.
By the way, you can also put fun tasks at the very start of the day. Doing so will give you a boost on starting the daily work. You’ll be well rested and be starting with something you absolutely love doing.
Arrange Tasks Based on Client Income
At first, this suggestion may seem a bit odd, but hear me out. Why would you finish a task for a client that pays you around $100 a month, when you have another similar task you need to finish for an old client that’s been paying you $300 a month for the past 2 years?
Even the opposite were true–you had to choose between a one gig client that’s paying $300 for the job at hand and a long term one paying a monthly fee of $100, I’ll still choose to do the task for the later. What if you only have the time to complete one task, and you’ll lose the client that you didn’t provide the work on time to? Which client would you choose then?
Round Up
Of course, there are probably many other ways you could arrange your daily tasks. I’m just sharing some ideas that work really well for me. Moreover, by arranging your tasks based on their importance and complexity you are somewhat abiding to a couple agile development methodologies, which are proved to be very effective in getting things done with super high quality.
Your Turn
How do you arrange tasks to make sure that you get the most done?
Image by smemon87
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About the author: Bogdan Pop is a young Romanian entrepreneur who runs WebRaptor. He is a web developer with awesome design skills, who enjoys writing about everyday work and usability on his own blog Web International Awards. He relaxes by taking photos every once in a while and by mixing French electronic music. Connect with him via Twitter @webraptor.
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28 Comments
Susan Johnston
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:59 amIn general, I agree with you, but I know others who can’t handle the most complex tasks at the beginning of the day, because their most productive and alert time is mid-afternoon or even the middle of the night. Knowing when you feel at your sharpest can help structure your day, but it’s important to remember that productivity isn’t “one size fits all.”
Jordan Walker
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:01 amWhat if you only have the time to complete one task, and you’ll lose the client that you didn’t provide the work on time to? Which client would you choose then?
– better to pull an all night, then loose a client and referral.
craig
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:51 amSome very good ideas there, I usually structure my tasks by importance but will take on your tip regarding the more interesting tasks towards the end of the day.
Ramona
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:36 amExcellent ideas. My problem for a lot of time was that I couldn’t keep track of my tasks. I am an “artist” and it shows. Now I have an agenda where I write down everything and it’s already helping a lot. By also learning how to chose the tasks, my productivity will surely increase.
Lucian
September 23rd, 2010 at 11:43 amIn my busy periods, I make sure I use Google Calendar and organize tasks / clients by days. That way I can let them know when I have time for their project, so they know when to expect the deadline.
No losing clients that way.
busybee
September 23rd, 2010 at 12:44 pmI arrange tasks based on what’s the most hard for me to do. I prioritize those because if I postpone them, I am more likely to keep delaying it. Once the hard tasks are done, getting through all the others is just a breeze.
Stella Aghenie
September 23rd, 2010 at 1:31 pmLife is a competition, It’s important to do something, and achieve something, that on this way to success, people could appreciate and respect you for what you do. It’s important to make people love you for who you are and what you do. Love life and life will love you back…
Jeff Huckaby
September 23rd, 2010 at 3:20 pmI use a couple of systems loosely based on David Allen’s Getting Thing Done Method.
For longer term projects, tasks, complex projects, I use Tracks:
http://getontracks.org/
But what I’ve found most useful is this:
1. Write down all key tasks.
2. Estimate how long each will take. Multiple this by 1.5 to give me a buffer
3. Assign each task a priority A, B, C.
4. Go to http://www.printablechecklist.org/ and Make my check list.
I do this the day/night before. When I do this, I find I am much more focus. I am actually amazed at how much I actually get done.
By mixing the longer term project task management with the day to day management, I find I am much more productive.
Stephanie
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:37 pmI use an online task management tool for all of my to-do lists and I make sure to finish off the quick errands and tasks before jumping into the big and complex stuff for the day. I prefer to have my entire focus on one thing at a time and knowing that I can complete errands and small tasks faster, I finish those off first. If I know there’s an errand or task that I have to do before the end of the day, it’ll just keep bugging me till I get up from my dining room chair and get right to it.
Patricia
September 24th, 2010 at 3:45 amKeeping a states and activities journal for a few weeks spurred me to radically restructure how I organize my tasks.
Before, like many, important/complex/time-critical tasks took top billing, the rest of the list falling into place more or less de facto. By the end of the day, I’d still have too many dangling participles for comfort, tasks that would be added to the next day’s long list.
Knowing how your own brain and biorhythms work can spur your effectiveness. For example, first thing in the morning (or late at night) is prime time for me to get serious writing done, and pointless to prep financial documents for my accountant. The early afternoon mental and physical calm is the perfect time for me to keep up on professional articles, deal with admin tasks, or make those marketing calls where active listening is crucial. And so on.
Tackling the activity that your brain is most suited to at a particular time during the day helps you accomplish tasks more successfully and more effectively, freeing up precious time to achieve better work-life balance.
David
September 24th, 2010 at 6:29 amGood Ideas. Arranging my tasks based on priority is quite useful.
I also use an online tool where I can quickly record my tasks and reprioritize if needed. I use http://todo.ly for that. I found that very cool, and easy to use.
OfficeCavalry
September 24th, 2010 at 6:29 amGood post!
But what can I do to help prevent me from getting distracted? There are so many distractions, especially when you are finding work tedious, and the internet really doesn’t help this problem.
Freelance FactFile
September 24th, 2010 at 8:22 amAt the end of the previous day, I print out my ‘To Do’ list for the next day. Then, I start the day with some easy tasks that only take a minute or two to complete. It’s a good way to get a few items ticked off the list. Then I prioritise in order of importance/deadline.
To increase my productivity, I turn off ALL distractions.
Derek Iannelli-Smith
September 24th, 2010 at 2:40 pmI use TBYL Outlook plugin: http://www.mcgheeproductivity.com/Products/29-tbyl-4outlook-add-in.aspx as I found GTD complicated. I do recommend a system however which is what I think the author is suggesting… no system, no organization. Good post.
Beth Dargis
September 24th, 2010 at 3:42 pmI keep my energy up with the Pomodoro Technique, breaking every 25 min. As far as order I like to do project/client/writing work in the morning and email/social media/admin in the afternoon when my brain has had it.
shani skinny
September 25th, 2010 at 6:26 pmi use http://todo.ly for this purpose.because it is so user friendly.
Christina Crowe ( @CashCampfire )
September 25th, 2010 at 7:51 pmThese are all wonderful tips. I often find that completing the more important tasks in the beginning of the day decreases stress, since I don’t have to worry about what will happen if I don’t complete the important task in time. However, I’m also more productive in the morning, so completing difficult tasks during that time is better for me.
Another suggestion is to arrange tasks according to the specific times during the day in which you’re most productive. I recently came across the blog Productive Flourishing with an absolutely fabulous heat map (http://www.productiveflourishing.com/how-heatmapping-your-productivity-can-make-you-more-productive/) that you can print out to help you determine which hours you have the most energy to get more work done and which hours during the day in which you have to struggle to work. I’m still in the process of analyzing my work schedule and determining which times I’m most likely to laze around so that I can get my least work extensive tasks done during that time.
The fact is, all freelance writers have their own times in which they’re most productive. Not everyone has the same amount of energy in the morning, so getting important work extensive tasks done at that time might not be the best fit for some writers. I personally am more productive in the morning, but I know a lot of writers who prefer to work nights.
laddi
September 26th, 2010 at 10:31 amgreat information..Its always pays to keep everything on your tips.
Paul Ouano
September 27th, 2010 at 6:29 amAnother way I increase productivity is turn off music. I also use productivity tools such as RescueTime and FocusBooster.
You make good points, and though I don’t think every tip applies to everyone, I definitely like your 3rd point and I’ll definitely start doing that.
Ameet
September 28th, 2010 at 6:00 amnice tips but what if you have both the task of equal importance and equal income equal fun and equal complexity i guess then have to resort on instinct :)
Heather Henderson
September 29th, 2010 at 2:27 pmThis was really valuable — thank you! Your article really cut to the chase. I used it this morning when I made out my day’s list — and your suggestions helped.
I’ll add one tip of my own here: at the end of each day, I review (or even write out) what I accomplished that day. It helps me reinforce the fact that I AM making progress, even if I just felt I was spinning my wheels all day. And it helps me feel less discouraged by all the things I didn’t get to.
Tommy
June 8th, 2011 at 1:47 pmI always try and make a list first thing in the morning, then look at the stuff on the list that I really don’t want to do, the ones that really feel like they are hanging over me. Then I take a deep breath, and set about doing those things. It makes the rest of the day much simpler.
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